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Sceptic Watcher
@Tenzin Peljor
In one of his books, Nydahl writes about the incident, but doesn't go into details about what exactly the letter said, only that Trungpa referred to him as Rudra.

Hi Sceptic,

You are incorrect. The book you are referring to is "Riding the Tiger" in which Ole not only comments extensively on his dealings with Dharmadhatu but also reproduces in full the letter in question. The letter is two pages long so I will only copy the most juicy bits here:

The Vajracarya has instructed me to tell you that Mr Nhydahl (sic) is not welcome in any of our centers in the role of a teacher. The Vajracarya feels very strongly that there is some real perversion of the Buddharharma taking place by Mr Nhydahl and a definite perversion of His Holiness Karmapa's intentions and wishes. As we know, because of the power of the vajrayana teachings there are many warnings concerning the breaking of samaya and possibilities of Rudrahood. There have been instances in the past where students, out of confusion, have misused these precious teachings to create a personal fortress of charlatanism and egohood. This appears to be the case with Mr Nhydahl.

Once again - far from "not going into details" Ole has included full copy of the letter as inset in his book for everyone to have a laugh. The icing on the cake is the fact the letter was signed by Osel Tenzin - CT's Regent who had unprotected sex with his students (male and female) knowing he was HIV positive. What a joke.

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Alchi

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vdesign

Re: 16th Karmapa "promoting" Ole there apparently was a letter he wrote to the Danish Queen when he sent Ole and Hannah to teach Buddhism in Europe. I understand that Ole and Hannah, upon returning to Denmark in 1970s, were granted audience with the Queen and handed the letter in.

Cheers

Thanks for your post Vdesign


It is interesting to note that this letter hasn’t been published by the DWB. Just the sharmapa letter regarding Ole’s lama status. Even if the karmapa endosed Nydalh at one point this doesn’t excuse his today’s behaviour.

Hi Alchi,

Flicking through "Riding the Tiger" I have actually found the letter to the Danish Queen. Some excerpts for your info:

The occasion for writing this letter is the return to Denmark of my trusted pupils, Ole and Hannah NYDAHL of Denmark. (...) One of the features of the modern age is the trend of many young people towards the East, and I get pupils from many nations who are deeply sincere in their search for the truth. Ole and Hannah are two such. I have therefore entrusted them with the task of establishing a Centre and meditation centre in Denmark.

Of course past endorsements do not mean we should not look at one's current actions. I am just letting you know that the letter has been published - you found it interesting that it had not.

@vdesign.
Thank you this is very helpful. Due to different reasons I compiled an own article in German about LON but used for this only available sources which can be checked. So now I was able to add at least this point in a footnote.

Hi Tenzin,

My German is rusty but you appear to have done a good job with the article. Just one thing - the links in refs [18] and [19] are broken. The documents you are linking to are well known but you may want to fix the links for the benefit of casual web surfers.

Re your post of 5/9/10 I am not sure that Ole ever tried to justify his style as 'crazy wisdom' using the example of Trungpa. Ole's consistent line on Dharmadhatu has been that Trungpa wrote some good books but the structure he put in place in US was flawed on many levels. I cannot see how Ole would have propped his credibility using a model of presentation of Dharma in the West which he considers a failure.

Following up on my recent posts on the Shamarpa exchange I am relieved the issue has been clarified. This was the only explanation I could privately think of when the thing blew up - that Shamarpa had been seriously misinformed by someone. Out of respect for Shamarpa I did not mention it in my post. It seemed incredible that someone of his caliber went to print based on an oral account of a single answer given by Ole during a Q&A session after lecture.

What is equally puzzling to me is the lengths some on this forum go to to read more into this episode. First Shamarpa was brave enough to cut the boil. Then Ole tried to blackmail Shamarpa into submission. The trick worked - Shamarpa posted his second, toned down write-up (obviously under pressure from DW bullies). Then Shamarpa removed even this statements from his website and published a retraction. He then removed all statements from his website - he must have been bribed or threatened!

For the benefit of all budding conspiracy theorists on RR I will present another version of the events. Someone who is not a great fan of Ole got into Shamarpa's ear with some vicious gossip. Shamarpa had a lapse of critical judgement and rushed to put together a letter based on untrue allegations. Stabbed in the back Ole went public, explained that he does not teach sex as Dharma and challenged any woman claiming to have been taught yab-yum by him to come forward. Confronted, Shamarpa went back to check his sources, realised he had been misinformed and published a retraction. He kept it on his website for as long as necessary to clarify the issue and then took it off to put an end to the matter.

What do ya think?

Cheers,

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Wangdrag

2. In mahayana buddhist teaching, one of the central points is the teaching on emptyness. This means that thins are empty of their independent existence, in other words all is contidioned and interconnected. (this is rather symplified explanation, there is plenty of material online on this topic).
Ole prefers to use term "space" instead of emptyness, but this term already exists in buddhist philosophy and it is considered on of the five elements, which is also seen as empty. So he mergestwo different things into one.

This is rather technical but since Rick has allowed Wangdrag’s claim as relevant then perhaps my comments will also get a tick.

Ole uses the term ‘space’ in reference to the nature of mind, in preference to ‘emptiness’. ‘Emptiness’ is the traditional English translation of the Sanskrit term sunyata while ‘space’ typically refers to one of the rupas (elements) as in earth, wind etc. One description of the rupa translated into English as ‘space’ is: “... space-element has the characteristic of delimiting material objects, the function of showing their boundaries, the manifestation of showing their limits …”. The term ‘space’ used in this meaning refers to a container WHERE stuff manifests. Fair enough.

Sunyata is an entirely different thing. According to traditional texts it has the quality of unobstructedness and emergence, being the root of both the consciousness and all appearances. In a sense sunyata is HOW things happen. It is completely void but can effortlessly manifest everything while being unaffected by the show. Hearing this the first translators thought: well, it is empty so let’s call it ‘emptiness’. The term ‘emptiness’ does not ‘mean’ sunyata – it merely hints at one of sunyata’s characteristics. It was probably the most suitable term available in the late 19th century English which is why ‘emptiness’ was universally accepted as a translation of sunyata. Fair enough.

In 20th century the advances of quantum phisics have completely changed our understanding of space. Far from being a passive background, container WHERE things happen space is now viewed as the creator of the show. The space is teeming with particles which constantly pop in and out of existence, borrowing energy from space and returning it before the Planck time is up (Wiki: vacuum energy). In one formulation the Universe started as a spontaneous quantum fluctuation of vacuum – a kind of burp of the space itself. It is hard not to notice that this meaning of ‘space’ is much closer to how sunyata is presented in Buddhist texts than ‘emptiness’. In a modern meaning ‘space’ is HOW things happen, not just WHERE they manifest. It is unlimited, dynamic, unobstructed and constantly churns out stuff and swallows it back.

It is in this sense that Ole uses the term ‘space’ in reference to sunyata. Languages evolve and words change their meaning – why should we be stuck with the 19th century terminology which is no longer a best fit for the purpose? The word ‘tobacco’ used to evoke images of style and sophistication but, as a result of progress of science, no longer does. These days it is viewed as an addictive poison.

It looks like other Kagyu teachers have also used the term ‘space’ in a similar context.

Chogyam Trungpa “Cutting through spiritual materialism”:
“Fundamentally there is just open space, the basic ground that we really are. (…) The beginning point is that there is open space, belonging to no one. (…) We are this space, we are one with it.”

Kalu Rinpoche’s teachings in Marcola, Oregon, 1982:
“Beyond this essential emptiness, we can make the statement that mind is like space. Just as space is all-pervasive, so is consciousness. (…) We need to remember that when we are using these terms, we are attempting to describe something that is indescribable. (…) The nature of mind is like empty space”

I honestly thing that the issue with Ole’s use of the term ‘space’ is a red herring.

Cheers,

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jah
herbieZH,

I am really curious what kind of kalachakra empowerment Ole was giving. Traditionally, if I am remembering correctly, there are a series of eleven possible empowerments. Was he giving one for the whole thing, do you recall. I'm also wondering who empowered him?

And yeah, that is pretty weird making people take a vow like that before an empowerment like that. Kalachakra is all about the energy of time and can thus have a very powerful effect on the world. Dalai Lama comes under criticism mainly because it is possible to have a destructive influence if the intent is not correct. He does it for peace. But doing it to resist Islam?!

What was your sense of this?

Hi Jah,

Pleased to be able to clarify it for you. Lama Ole received full Kalachakra transmission form Lopon Tsechu Rinpoche in 1994 in Karma Gon, Spain. This means he is a holder of the transmission and can pass it on. Ole also took Kalachakra initiations from a number of other high lamas, including Sakya Trizin.

You may not be aware that Kalachakra Tantra has strong military overtones and, in some interpretations, its purpose was to empower Buddhists in India to resist Islamic invasions. As with jihad, the opposing interpretation is that Kalachakra is about confronting an inner foe i.e. ego. This is what HHDL means when he says that Kalachakra is a practice of peace.

Cheers,

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vdesign

For the benefit of all budding conspiracy theorists on RR I will present another version of the events. Someone who is not a great fan of Ole got into Shamarpa's ear with some vicious gossip. Shamarpa had a lapse of critical judgement and rushed to put together a letter based on untrue allegations. Stabbed in the back Ole went public, explained that he does not teach sex as Dharma and challenged any woman claiming to have been taught yab-yum by him to come forward. Confronted, Shamarpa went back to check his sources, realised he had been misinformed and published a retraction. He kept it on his website for as long as necessary to clarify the issue and then took it off to put an end to the matter.

What do ya think?

Cheers,

Hi vdesign. You exactly match my own theory on that subject which I never submitted myself here yet. Just the short comment that I accept it to be reasonable to remove the last and all letters from his (Shamarpa's) website after a reasonable but short time. I full agree with your theory.

Cheers

Hi Blondie.

The stuff people are sticking up their noses is snuff, a tobacco derivative and stimulant. Ole often uses it during lectures and so the "monkey see, monkey do" ethos within DWB means that his students think it makes them closer to their enlightened teacher if they copy him.

At least when I attended public talks it was snuff. I very much doubt it would be anything like cocaine.

People arrive at cults/religious groups in search of something. Hopefully enough of Buddha's teachings will filter through to bring your partner to a point where he/she can remain critical. Once that process has begun people either turn their back on DWB or find that it really does have a useful place in their lives. It's down to the choice of the individual.

I wish you the best.

Steve

@VDesign
=>Polish Article
Thank you for the translation, it was far more understandable than the garbled mess Google Translator delivered! There is indeed little new information - that Nydahl doesn't like Islam was already well known.

=>Trungpa on Nydahl:
Ah, sorry, I seem to have another edition. The letter isn't fully copied in my version of the book like other documents are. Checking back, the parts you cited are - it was just the Rudra accusation that sticked to my mind.

=>Shamarpas letters
Yes, your reading could also be correct. People critical of Nydahl will be more likely to choose the interpretation that is less favorable to him, the same way you choose the interpretation that is more favorable to him.

Actually, I personally agree that in this instance, you are probably correct. He did not teach tantra. I find it unfortunate that these claims were made, when it is scandalous enough that he has sex with his pupils at all. I think this is a sign of an unhealthy student-teacher relationship, and think that this is what the complaint to Shamarpa should have focused on.
I think that Trungpa Tulku was rightly criticized for having relationships with pupils, and it is wrong for Nydahl to have them, too. I think he is naive when he says that they aren't in a teacher-student-relationship when he's having a partnership with them. They can't suddenly push a button and unbecome his students, can they?